Over the past several weeks, my geeky excursions have led me to all sorts of fashionable, brilliant and creative minds residing in Savannah. But no group is as dear to my heart as the Savannah HP Meetup.

Comprised of the city’s biggest Harry Potter fans, HP Meetup is a club that gathers monthly for fun Potter-related activities and geeky conversations.

Most recently, I met with a couple of members to purchase copies of J.K. Rowling’s first post-Potter novel, “The Casual Vacancy.” The book release was a major turning stone for the Potter community and for Rowling as she marked her official debut as an adult author.

The big question many critics asked was whether Rowling can successfully make the transition to adult novels. And if you’ve read any of the reviews pouring in since the release, then you already know the answer is a resounding yes.

But many fans, including myself, would argue that Rowling has been writing adult novels for a very long time.

“I thought that it was a children’s series,” says HP member Betsy Graham. “Then I saw the movie and I loved it. And so I got the first four books and read them back-to-back.”

Meetup preserves the magic

All of the members of HP Meetup are adults who either work full-time jobs, attend colleges or manage our own households and families on a daily basis. But once a month, we’ll find time to have fun and connect over our favorite series.

“We make wands, we stencil butterbeer mugs, we play Harry Potter Kinnect games and board games,” Alford says. “And we play Quidditch, too.”

A great deal of time is also spent discussing some of the unanswered questions and remaining mysteries in the Harry Potter books and sharing other science-fiction fantasy series with the group.

Members have traveled to conventions such as LeakyCon. And Alford even flew to London, where she was able to attend the movie premiere for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

Graham, who is also a member of feltbeats.com, a fan site dedicated to actor Tom Felton of the Harry Potter series, has covered three movie premieres as a member of the press and met several of the major stars in the series.

Embracing the magic

As students, teachers and librarians celebrate the freedom of reading during the 2012 Banned Books Week, HP members are speaking out on behalf of Harry Potter — currently listed as one of the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century.

“I think that anyone who criticizes the series hasn’t actually given the series a chance,” Graham says.

Not long after the first Harry Potter book was published in 1997, religious groups asserted that the novel — and those that followed after — contained subtexts of witchcraft and the occult.

But on the contrary, recurring themes and storylines in the series reveal parallels to Christianity — particularly the idea that love conquers all, including death.

Following the release of the final book in 2007, Rowling confirmed this reading, saying that she was afraid to admit it sooner for fear readers would uncover the subsequent events of the story.

“Yes, it’s about magic,” Alford says, “but it’s mostly centered around friendship and love and all the things that make stories good.”

If you’re interested in being a part of Savannah HP Meetup, join us next at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 for a meet and greet at the downtown Starbucks, 1 E. Broughton St. You can also find us on online at facebook.com/savannahhp.meetup.

Janay Kingsberry is a web producer for SavannahNow.com. She studies journalism at Savannah State University. Find her on Twitter at @_LoisLane or email janay.kingsberry@savannahnow.com.

ON THE WEB

Find Janay’s “Geek On” blogs on savannahnow.com to read her essay “Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Censorship,” which won first place last year during Savannah State’s Banned Books Week finale event.